Being Patient

My dad was admitted to IJN on July 16 for the surgery to remove the tumor in his chest. The surgery was scheduled to be done on Friday, July 21, but did not happen because of the high occupancy of the operating theater. Being there for almost a week was already a torture for my dad. He just couldn't bear the thought of being away from home and his circle of usrah colleagues.

Finally, the surgery was due on Monday July 24 at noon. He was whisked to the OT at 12.30pm, but I think the procudure only started at 1pm. Mak, Atam, Ateh and Adik were waiting there. I wish I could be there, but I had to care for Amir (my maid was still not here yet) while at the same time attend to my endless work stuff. I ended up bringing Amir to work, while Dad would fetch Adam & Aina after school and perhaps brought them his office.

The procedure was completed at 4pm. The tumor was removed, measuring 10x10cm at the core (refer picture - what looks like the head is the core) about 12-14cm tail. Imagine that growth with the size of a grapefruit all these while nestling in between the heart & lungs...no wonder my dad's cough is endless.

My dad came to consciousness at about 6pm, it was heart-rendering to see him in ICU, with all the supporting tubes & IV. In his semi-consciuosness, heavily drugged with morphine, his index finger kept pointing to his legs. The bed was not long enough to accomodate his long legs to stretch out properly. I told the nurse to move him so that he could stretch his legs. They only could do it after sponging is done. So we waited about half an hour for them to do that and finally removed the oxygen tube from his mouth after 7:30pm.

The next day, Tuesday, Apak was transferred from the ICU to the normal ward at after 4pm. Though still heavily monitored, it was a relief that he didn't have to stay long in ICU. This time around, Mak wanted to stay the night to care for his husband. Even then, Apak, was already complaining why Mak was late. She insisted that I pick up the new maid first before sending her to IJN. We noticed that Apak was a bit impatient and quick-tempered - must be the drugs. He was groggy and confused in identifying his children.

Alhamdulillah, by Wednesday, he was back to his normal self. With the after-effects of the drugs, he was a little bit dizzy. But he could already go to the bathroom by himself. The doctor said his recovery was quite remarkable, and Apak attributed all that to prayers and zikirs. With zikir, your soul becomes calm and peaceful, hence the strong will and determination...

The Power of Branding

My two sisters and I are playing this game currently. Come up with a brand that has become generic in the eyes of the local consumers. Do you know how to do this? Just think of some product that you think is commonly referred to as the actual thing. That people are actually unaware of the brand usage. Example - Pampers for diapers. And the top nominees are:

1. Pampers - baby diapers (of course)
2. Maggi - instant noodles (favorite food in boarding schools or even colleges)
3. Softlan - fabric softener
4. Pajero - 4-wheeler (I think most Malaysians refer to all 4-wheeler as Pajero. I have a friend who sent his Ford Ranger to the car-wash, and upon completion, the car-wash operator called his worker to get the "Pajero" right in the owner's face!)
5. Clorox -I think all makciks use this to refer to all sort of bleach product
6. Shell - all gas stations are called Shell (I think)
7. Dettol - for all disinfectants
8. Kotex - tolong beli Kotex bang! And the hubby obligedly understood what it meant...

So what else can you think of?

I'm bored - and blogging in KLCC Convention Center while my kids are roaming KLCC with their aunt...sigh..

On the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown

Life at the workplace has been very hectic for the past month, and even more so for the past week. Tuesday was worst because I thought I was going to have a heart-attack. I felt my chest tightening and my blood pressure was unstable. When I looked into the mirror, I saw hot-flushes all over my face. The nervousness was mainly due to the fact that a client asking for a proposal presentation with a very short-notice, and I have no one in the office to support me technically. Every single effort to win this RM7 million project I had to bear myself. Was also frantically trying to get support from my partners, but of course, being the prime contractor, it had to be me.

I think I'm not in a very good shape in terms of maintaining my physical fitness. Endless self-promises I've been making to myself to at least exercise 3 times a week, or do some situps before taking the morning shower. And I'm still making that promise which has yet to be fulfilled. Even worse, I'm still maidless, so with endless hours at work and endless house chores, it is the ultimate recipe for a nervous breakdown.

I'm glad I still can count on my siblings to help me with the kids care and some housework. I'm also very furious with my maid-agent for not being proactive about servicing us. When we made the booking of the maid, he should have advised the maid to make the necessary arangements already. What I'm hearing now is the maid wants to go back to her kampong first when she was supposed to be here on Tuesday!! The agent should have told her to do so when we placed the order 3 weeks ago.

And I'm still freaking mad! To top it all...Amir loves to tabur bedak all over the house........

All I have to say...

All I have to say is that:

1. Murphy's Law always works at the very last moment of whatever submission you need to do: Example - The Immigration system have been down for the last 3 days of last week. So we couldn't make the submission for our new maid.
2. The government will always find fault in whatever you file: Example - Medical reports of the maid candidate is incomplete - Duh!
3. The last day of current maid is Thursday: Translate - I don't know how long will I be maidless..
4. Work is endless and piling: Translate - I can't take too long of a holiday to care for my children.
5. Mak!! Tolong! Translate - import reliable support structure from kampung laa..